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8 End-of-the-Year Tasks for Smart Care Professionals

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You may be in the process of making up your holiday shopping and to-do lists… So while you are at it, here’s another important list to make – this one for your advocacy practice. When if you complete these tasks before December 31, you’ll set the stage for an even better business year in 2016! Included on your list should be tasks that address money, marketing, taxes and legal matters, plus others you think of that will help you grow, prosper, and support your patient-clients who so desperately need your skills. Here are some ideas to get you started on […]

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Do You Protect Your Herd?

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(Warning! Today I’m sharing a personal opinion for which I don’t expect total agreement. But I’m steadfast in my belief. I have science behind me. I’m girded for argument… bring it on!) When I began my patient empowerment work in 2005, I had little or no understanding of the benefits of getting a flu shot except that – maybe – it would protect me from getting the flu. But I didn’t feel like I was at risk; I lived alone, I worked from home, my kids were no longer in school (where flu runs rampant!), and I was still relatively

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Making the Case for Nonsense

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I suspect this discussion is going to surprise you as much as it surprised me. The topic is Nonsense, but not Nonsense by its classic definition. No, this Nonsense is quite different, and, frankly, sometimes it chokes me up. Just published a month ago, Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing is the title of a new book by Jamie Holmes. Jamie is a Future Tense Fellow at New America, a non-profit, think-tank / forum / media platform that promotes the intellectual study of politics, prosperity and purpose. Part science, part expos, part business lesson, Nonsense will surely leave you looking

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Step Aside Pollyanna! There’s No Room Here for You

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This is a message with a little tough love for some of the folks I encounter – Pollyannas – who are choosing advocacy as career move. Sorry Pollyanna – but there is no room for you in patient advocacy. You have a choice: you can either learn to overcome your inner Pollyanna or you can find yourself another profession. Pollyannaism can too easily get in the way of the professionalism required of good, competent advocates, and can result in deficient service to clients. The Pollyanna Advocate Pollyanna is a fictional character from children’s literature, who is known for always being

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Merriam Webster, The Who, and Hacking Churnalism

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Today we’re channeling The Who, Merriam Webster and one of my longtime favorite fellow patient empowerment buddies, Gary Schwitzer, who reminds me at least weekly why we just can’t trust the media without very careful review. As follows: I love a new word. When this one appeared in my inbox last week, I wanted to share it with you because it’s an important concept for advocates and patients alike. Today’s new word is: Churnalism.(Take that Merriam Webster!) Churnalism is the product of lazy reporters and journalists who, without further investigation or review, simply reprint (or broadcast) a submitted press release

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Goldilocks, Dad and Finding Care That’s Just Right

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My dad retired in the 1980s. In addition to his pension he had also earned health insurance coverage for the rest of his life. Over time, as you can imagine, the actual value of that insurance became more and more evident; In all likelihood, it was a many-years-of-life saver, because he lived until 2012. But then, I think his health insurance may have killed him, too. Dad retired early at the ripe old age of 60, because when he was 59, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His resulting surgery did not successfully remove all the cancer cells, so Dad

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Alone, But Not by Yourself

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“But she is so upset with me now!” That was the response from an advocate who wrote to me after an unpleasant encounter with a former client. Even though they had not worked together for more than a year, the client had contacted the advocate to ask for copies of her medical records. The client knew the advocate had acquired them when they worked together, she needed them, and she didn’t want to pay for them again. Fair request, certainly. The advocate should have been able to turn them over to the client quite easily, either electronically or on paper….

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